Originally Posted by ladydub
Originally Posted by WizardGnome
I don't mind Karlach, though she's not my personal favorite; The one thing that does bother me is when their background doesn't match up with their power level. Gale is one of the most powerful knowledgeable wizards! Who starts at level 1 for some reason. Karlach is a veteran of the blood war! A level one veteran. I know they try to handwave it away with "Uh ummm the worm depowers them" but honestly it just seems dumb to me. Just write a more appropriate history for a level 1 character, is it that hard?

The only thing that is good about Karlach is her voice actor.

And I agree 100% on the power level disconnect from the story.

How about Jaheira? She should be one of the most powerful druids in the realms, fully decked out with artefact-level gear, yet she can get 2 shot during harper battle (and drop mundane gear, not even magical, lol), btw she has no tadpole in her. And we can find a scroll in her room with a ritual that allows ARCHDRUIDS to extend their lifespan. She’s also keeping Belm there, instead of taking it with her on a dangerous mission.

If we are starting at level one, there is no need for larger than life backstories, like blood war veterans or mages who fcked the gods (literally). There are ways to develop characters from scratch as the game goes on. And if we are meeting returning characters, it should be a huge deal, not just another dude to level up and gear up with leftovers from your camp supply chest…

Actually, for Jaheira, I didn't mind nearly as much. First, it's left a bit fuzzy just how much of the original "Bhaalspawn saga" canonically happened or in what way, or how 2nd edition power levels translate to 5th edition levels. And I can accept the idea of something along the lines of "Jaheira aged, and took a long break from adventuring, and when she DID adventure it was against threats a bit more mundane than she fought with the Bhaalspawn. So over the years she deleveled a bit as she lost her edge, and she gave away her powerful equipment to others who really needed it." The rationale for Jaheira becoming depowered feels a bit more natural.

Gale and Karlach are definitely the worst offenders for "Why the hell are you level 1." Like, look at Astarion. He's definitely got a "Special" background, but it makes sense for his level: he's just some vampire spawn, a puppet abused by his master until he escaped. If we boosted Astarion's backstory to the level of Gale, it would be like "ASTARION WAS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL VAMPIRE LORDS WHO EVER LIVED."